This morning I helped Irma with the chores which was a nice way to get to know her better. We cleaned the kitchen and she showed me many things that she likes to cook with. I also sat outside in the sun on the porch while Irma did some laundry.

Around noon we went to Irma's brother house for a big lunch to celebrate one of Irma's sister's birthday. 

It was an amazing experience that I will never forget! All of Irma's family is so welcoming. Everyone cooked a big meal together, laughing and talking the whole time. They showed me how to cook potatoes a special way. In the backyard they build a sort of a brick oven out of stones. Then they start a fire in the oven. After the fire is really hot they throw in a ton of potatoes and knock the oven in on itself and bury the potatoes in earth and hot stones. About 20 minutes later, they dig out the potatoes from the hot stones and earth and they are smoky and rich!

We also had four different types of meat that was cooked on an outdoor fire. There was corn with the biggest kernels I have ever seen and cooked vegetables.

My favorite part of the day was seeing how loving the family is. There were at least 20 people at the lunch and everyone laughed together the whole time. Juan Diego, my Peruvian brother, helped his 10 year old cousin with her math homework for hours. Irma's nice sang karaoke for the whole family. Everyone poked fun at each other, but in a nice way. There was nothing fancy about the day, just great company.

Tomorrow I start volunteering at the kindergarten!